Fantasy Football Week 10: Starts, Sits, and Sleepers

Photo: Michael Chow, USA Today Sports

Fantasy stars like Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and A.J. Brown are all on bye this week, leaving fantasy managers with some choices to make in their lineup. This weekly article is meant to make those lineup decisions a little bit easier. You can always listen to The Footballguys Fantasy Football Show, which releases episodes every weekday - also, check out the free Week 10 Player Rankings.

QUARTERBACKS

START: Jared Goff @ LAC (Listen at - 56:00)

• Avg Fantasy Points: 17.3 (T-14th)
• Opponent vs QBs: 32nd
• Week 10 Rank: QB6
• Projected Points: 21.1

Jared Goff has had back-to-back disappointing performances, but the Lions are coming off a bye week, with plenty of time to prepare for the Chargers. Los Angeles has allowed five quarterbacks to score at least 21 fantasy points in eight games - the only three quarterbacks to score less than that were Zach Wilson, Tyson Bagent, and Aidan O'Connell. The return of David Montgomery should also be a big boost for the Lions offense, which could find itself in a shootout game.

SIT: Deshaun Watson @ BAL

• Avg Fantasy Points: 18.4 (9th)
• Opponent vs QBs: 1st
• Week 10 Rank: QB20
• Projected Points: 15.1

The Ravens have only allowed one quarterback to finish with more than 15.3 fantasy points - that quarterback was Josh Dobbs in Week 8. It's fair to point out that Baltimore hasn't exactly gone against a murderer's row of passers: Gardner Minshew, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Kenny Pickett, and Ryan Tannehill. When Watson has been healthy, he's actually been pretty good. He's finished as a Top-10 fantasy quarterback in three of his four full games while scoring at least 19 points in those same three games. The issue with Watson is the sample size. We haven't seen him be a start-worthy quarterback against a quality defense yet. His biggest games have come against the Bengals in week 1, the Titans in week 3, and last week against the Cardinals, where a batted ball fell into the hands of Amari Cooper in the endzone - We're one lucky play away from Watson having two 12-point outings and two 20-point outings. We simply don't know how good or bad Watson is just yet.

SLEEPER: Baker Mayfield vs TEN (Listen at - 51:00)

• Avg Fantasy Points: 16.9 (Since Week 4)
• Opponent vs QBs: 14th
• Week 9 Rank: QB12
• Projected Points: 19.4

Baker Mayfield has been on fire lately, finishing as a Top-11 fantasy quarterback in four of his last five games. He now faces a Titans defense that appears to be one of the better defenses against quarterbacks, but let's peel back the layers on this. Over the last five weeks, the Titans have faced Kenny Pickett, Taylor Heinecke, Gardner Minshew, and an injured Joe Burrow. The Titans and Buccaneers have struggling secondaries that should allow for a ton of passing in this matchup.

TIGHT ENDS

START: Trey McBride VS ATL (Listen at 01:04:30)

• Avg Fantasy Points: 11.7 (since Week 6)
• Opponent vs TEs: 21st
• Week 10 Rank: TE10
• Projected Points: 11.6

Kyler Murray is back! Whether he looks and plays like the old Kyler is yet to be seen. We do know that Murray loves to target the tight end position. Through Week 9 of last season, Zach Ertz was the TE3, averaging nearly 8 targets per game. While McBride may not jump into the top three tight ends, there is a target insulation that makes him a relatively safe play with Murray back under center. The Falcons are a solid matchup for McBride as they've allowed five tight ends to score at least 12 PPR points in five of nine games this season.

SIT: David Njoku vs BAL

• Avg Fantasy Points: 9.5
• Opponent vs TEs: 3rd
• Week 10 Rank: TE14
• Projected Points: 9.1

David Njoku has scored double-digit PPR points in four of the last five games. The only problem is that three of those four games occurred without Deshaun Watson. The Ravens have only allowed three tight ends to score double-digit fantasy points this season. If you don't have any better options at the position, Njoku is a reasonable play, but I'd be looking to avoid any Browns players in week 10.